Apr 18

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Turkey’s leading e-Transformation company, Foriba, has officially completed its second round of investment. The two other big names in the Series B investment, led by IFC (International Finance Corporation), a foundation of the World Bank Group, were Revo Capital and Endeavor Catalyst. Foriba is making new plans for company acquisitions and mergers with the $5 million investment.

01.02.2018, Istanbul

FIT Solutions, the leading e-Transformation company, which was established in 1999 and now has the highest number of electronic documents in process, recently announced that it will continue its operations with the brand name Foriba, along with new mergers and acquisitions. Foriba has now received an investment of $5 million with the leadership of the world’s largest private sector-focused development agency, IFC. $3 million of this $5 million investment belongs to IFC, while $1.5 million and $500,000 belong to to Revo Capital and Endeavor Catalyst respectively.

The 3 big names in investment: IFC, Revo Capital and Endeavor

IFC’s Turkey strategy, supporting the private sector in Turkey for 55 years with investments of more than $15 billion, includes support for the growing information economy. Over the past 5 years, IFC has invested in software companies, data centers, e-Commerce and online payment systems in this field. With these investments, IFC aims to expand SME access to financial services through digital technologies.

Revo Capital, after having invested $4 million for the first time in Foriba in September 2014, also contributed to this investment round with $1.5 million. The series was completed with an investment of $500,000 made by Endeavor Catalyst, which has become for its recent investments in Turkey. Foriba has received a total of $9 million in investment so far, along with the Series-B investment.

Offering various solutions such as e-Invoicing, e-Archive, e-Ledger, e-Delivery Note for small and big companies, Foriba also leads the way for the development of the corporate software and integration services market in Turkey by following global trends. The Company continues to support financial technology applications with FIGO, the Supplier Financing Platform it established in 2016 in cooperation with Logo Yazılım. FIGO continues to grow apace with its first product, Figopara. Foriba is getting ready to invest more in fintech products after the investment it received.

Foriba currently serves more than 5,000 customers and manages 60% of all e-Invoices in Turkey. Growing steadily every year since the first investment from Revo Capital, Foriba aims to obtain new investments in the future, and also to make its own investments as a company.

“We will accelerate our overseas operations”

Koray Gültekin Bahar, CEO of Foriba, asserts, “Despite the prevalent market conditions, we have honored to receive investments from IFC, Revo Capital and Endeavor Catalyst. We started to take the first steps in our growth initiatives with Revo Capital’s previous investment and support. Now we have achieved growth above the sector average. In 2018, fear of the global economic crisis will not get in our way. Thanks to these investments, we will grow at least 60 percent in terms of turnover and customer numbers.”

Explaining how they are planning to make use of the Series-B investment round, Bahar continued, “In addition to the investments to date, we will be addressing larger masses in the new year thanks to our information leadership and strategic alliances in e-Transformation processes. We will continue to grow the our global customer numbers, and offer new solutions to our existing customers. Europe, the Turkic Republics and the Middle East are also in our sights. We firmly believe that we will be one of the key players directing technology in the international arena.”

Andi Dervishi, President of IFC Global Fintech Investments, says, “Investing in information technology and information economy in Turkey is crucial for financial market diversification. The Internet, digital technologies and financial innovation come together to change the way we discover, buy and use financial products. This transformation enhances productivity in the financial sector, and ensures that these services can be offered to those who cannot access certain financial products under normal circumstances. We are hugely excited about our cooperation with Foriba. Thanks to these investments, factoring and other online supply chain finance services in Turkey will reach more users for the first time.”

Cenk Bayrakdar, Managing Director of Revo Capital, cites, “Since 2014, when we first invested, Foriba has undergone a complete transformation both commercially and organizationally. Its leading position in the market, and today’s IFC investment, are evidence of this. Revo Capital was the first VC fund focused on FinTech in Turkey. Foriba’s growth, and that of our other investments in this field, indicate that this was the right choice. With our second fund, which we are currently establishing, we aim to grow our investments in the region along with international investors such as IFC.”

Finally, Aslıhan Kurul Türkmen, Director of Endeavor Turkey Entrepreneur Services, says, “Being one of Endeavor Turkey’s Entrepreneurships, Foriba was the beneficiary of the 5th investment by the Endeavor Catalyst Fund in Turkey. We believe this is a crucial investment for the global entrepreneurship network, and we anticipate that we can aid the growth of Foriba’s international operations with the support of our global network.”

About Foriba

Foriba, the leading e-transformation company, with the highest number of electronic documents in process, executes digital migration for companies’ financial and accounting processes. Foriba offers a variety of applications such as e-Invoicing, e-Archive, e-Ledger, e-Ticket, e-Reconciliation, e-Audit, e-Backup, IFRS, Tax Refund, e-Delivery Note, e-Record Keeping, e-Producer Receipt Solution, e-Self-Employment Invoice and Foreign Trade Solution, as well as solutions that improve business efficiency and streamline cost and time management during process alignment. Foriba directs the development of the corporate software and integration services market in Turkey by following global trends with its R&D center. Foriba is growing its global customer numbers by constantly developing its knowledge and experience in the field of e-Transformation, and also aims to be the first address for large enterprises and SMEs.

Foriba is ready for integration of SDI Platform and also going to open their branch office in Milan on march.

About IFCIFC

the sister organization of the World Bank, is the largest development organization focusing solely on the private sector in developing countries. Working with more than 2,000 companies around the world, IFC creates new markets and opportunities through its global know-how and experience. While offering its own custom solutions to meet the needs of the partner companies, IFC also benefits from the products and services of other institutions that exist within the structure of the World Bank Group. IFC shares its financial resources, as well as its technical expertise and global experience, with its business partners to overcome financial, operational and political obstacles. Financing developing countries with $18 billion in the 2017 fiscal year, IFC is helping to enhance countries’ welfare by using the power of the private sectors.
For more information: ifc.org

About Endeavor Association

Headquartered in New York, and with offices in 25+ countries in total, Endeavor is an active association that supports entrepreneurs. Under the leadership of the Board Members and Mentors in its network, Endeavor Turkey has been identifying and supporting potential active entrepreneurs since 2006. Targeting provision of both financial and intangible capital to entrepreneurs, Endeavor strides forward with the vision of driving sustainable economic development and supporting effective entrepreneurship. The members of the board of directors, of which Emre Kurttepeli assumed the presidency in June 2017, are Ali Koç, Alp Saul, Barbaros Özbugutu, Bülent Akgerman, Bülent Çelebi, Cansen Başaran-Symes, Dilnişin Bayel, Ebru Dorman, Ebru Özdemir, Emre Zorlu, Fady Jameel, Hayri Çulhacı, İlker Koçer, Işık Keçeci Aşur, Murat Özyeğin, Nevzat Aydın, Özcan Tahincioğlu, Suzan Sabancı Dinçer and Tankut Turnaoğlu.
For more information: endeavor.org.tr / endeavor.org

e-Transformation in Turkey

Keeping up with the digitalization, Turkey is aiming to develop value-added practices to provide individuals and entities with competitive and cost reducing advantages. We may say that the main goal of this centrally controlled model is to eliminate the grey economy. The developed electronic solutions have been supported by published government regulations. e-Transformation platform started with the regulative products such as e-Invoice, e-Ledger and e-Archive. Every stakeholder in the e-Transformation sector have contributed, and still contributing to the platform to gaining experience and making progress.